Random Fridays

Well, the little kittens seem to all be doing well. Mom is weighing them every couple of days and while Russell is still the reigning heavy weight champion (OF THE WORLD - so he would like you to believe), everyone else is steadily putting on weight and looks good. Monroe crossed the one pound mark and the brandy kittens aren't too far behind. Now if the girls will just get big enough that mom can put collars on them so she can tell them apart....they are even just close enough in size that there is no help there.

Monroe and the girls

Wheat and Saldano are still doing well. Saldano is so active and playful that it is hard to get a good picture of her. We actually have an application on Wheat, so once she makes weight and gets spayed, she will be going home with a retired couple that have another cat.

Saldano loves that tunnel.....she even naps in it

Liberty and Freedom continue to be snotty. The rescue has their big fundraiser/garden party on Sunday so next week once things settle back down, mom will talk to the head of the rescue about meds and spays and all that other stuff. Liberty still cringes when mom tries to hold her, but Freedom is a little bit better - she even came up to the bars the other morning and sniffed mom's finger. Mom thinks it helps that while she will still pick their noses, she has stopped medicating them and they are beginning to understand that being picked up doesn't always mean something bad tasting.

Liberty would like you to know she is still suspicious of that foster lady

We hope you have a nice and safe weekend.

chewy review #Influencer

We part of the Chewy.com Blogger Influencer Group. While we got the food for review for free, that does not influence our opinions. All opinions herein are our own.

This month mom wanted to try something different, so when she saw that there was something from Stella and Chewy's, she jumped at the chance to for us to try it.

However, she neglected to read about the product first. bad mom.....

We have tried freeze dried foods before that need to be rehydrated. And no one liked the first attempt a couple of years ago. Mom realized what she had done after she opened the box and thought - let's give it another try.

Yep....it was a bust. The brandy kittens and Monroe and Russell got first shot at this....even mixed with lots of KMR, they wouldn't touch it. Mom then mixed some for us and nope....not a chance. Mom isn't sure if it is texture or taste or what, but there was some sniffing and everyone walked away.

Don't get us wrong...we think this is a great option for those who are looking to feed a raw diet and this come freeze dried so you just have to rehydrate (directions on the package)....but no one here seems to want to give this type of food the time of day (the other we tried was a different brand, so it must be something about the texture).

Nice try mom....maybe next time.....

not so wordless Wednesday

Both Tommy and Daiquiri like to get up and sit on top of the tower. Not sure if they like it because it is high or because it drives the patriot girls NUTS! Maybe the driving the kittens nuts part is just a bonus....who knows. As you can see, the girls know someone is up there and are trying to get Tommy's attention.

keeping us on our toes

Mom took the little ones to the v-e-t on Friday just for a general check up since they are so small for their age. The v-e-t was busy (they squeezed us in) so we didn't get a whole lot of time (though one of the girls was cat-napped and carried around by a tech in her pocket for a few minutes) but the general consensus was keep on eye on them, make sure they are eating and bring them back if something pops up.

Marilyn is becoming less interested in nursing, so it became a little more imperative over the weekend to get the monkeys to eat something else. In fact, she has discovered she can get up on the vanity in the bathroom, so she does have a spot to escape. haha

The kittens are eating the kibble left out, but the brandy kittens are so tiny that the concern is how much are they actually eating. Mom tried several different kinds of canned food and FINALLY found one they will eat. It isn't her first choice, but hey....they are eating and they love the stuff (the girls growl at each other). So mom decided going for calories over content for the moment. MOL

snackin' time

Calvados

(mom still can't tell the girls apart)

FEEEED MEEEE

(says Monroe)

MEEEE TOOOOO

(says one of the girls)

Russell likes to throw his weight around which makes the girls scream. Of course, they tend to give as good as they get, but since he outweighs them (by about twice), mom tries to get him to back off.

The hope was to move them into the actual foster space, but until they are 100% with the litter box, mom is leaving them in the bathroom. That being said, she had to turn the lights on around 2am the other night as someone made an escape when she tried to get in there.

They are certainly bright and active and playful, so for now mom is just continuing to do what she is doing and we will see what that gets us.

weekend report

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOZART!!!

he's getting excited....space heater season is coming

Quick update: mom's football team lost, it was still hot on Sunday but it supposed to be much nicer starting today so mom left the window's cracked. Liberty and Freedom were supposed to go with mom to an adoption event on Sunday but are once again VERY snotty. Russell was being a bit of a bully on Sunday morning however, so mom took him along to give everyone a break....he freaked out a little bit in the new environment then took a nap. Everyone is doing well and mom thinks she has found a canned food that the little kittens will eat (YAY!).

random friday

It has been a long week. The brandy kittens were not feeling well over the weekend so mom has spent a lot of time awake and being worried. Chambord (who is the smaller of the girls) was doing pretty badly and while we aren't out of the woods just yet, she is eating and nursing. They have all lost some weight and are on an antibiotic to help with their guts. Please send them some positive energy if you can. Oh...and if they could learn to eat canned food, that would be great too....

Marilyn did finally growl at Daiquiri the other night. Daiq went over the gate and all 3 brandy kittens freaked out. We think what set off Marilyn was the HOWL that one of the girls let loose at Daiquiri. Daiq, along with Ivy and Tommy who weren't even involved, all came slinking down the hall looking pretty guilty before mom could get back there to check on everyone.
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We won a blogoversary prize from the ladies at Sweet Purrfections. Mom FINALLY got everything out and put this bed in one of our favorites spots. It has been pretty popular and there is usually someone sleeping on it.

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We still only have one board up on the doors in the foster room (don't get mom started). However, she wanted to do something to break up the stark whiteness of it. She asked around, got some suggestions, and found Wordy Bird Studios and ordered the decal above. It is vinyl and sticks right to the panel on the door. Pretty easy to put on and is 24" by 24". The green bird is their logo and a test but mom thought it was cute and left it.

Once the other panels are up and the camera is back online (technical issues still), we are going to see how it looks. Mom is thinking something else on the panel to the right (the panel to the left can't be seen on camera and is half covered by storage). And she is also thinking about maybe getting our blog url and that of the rescue made up to put on the doors too....you can never have enough advertising to get kittens adopted. :)
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Mom says she doesn't care what the calendar says about fall....we still got the hots here and we want them to GO AWAY!

Remember Me Thursday

It is that time of year again....Remember Me Thursday  when we bring to light an effort to remember those animals that never get a home of their own.

Be sure to read our post from last week about the local issues still ongoing with the dog shelter in our town. Five rescues filed a lawsuit on Thursday asking for a restraining order to stop the deaths. The Judge wouldn't sign it until they posted a bond of $100,000 to cover the cost of the shelter keeping the dogs alive in the event that the case was dismissed. The money wasn't raised (no surprise given they had about 24 hours), but the rescues agreed to withdraw the case based on an agreement with the dog shelter that no more dogs would be killed without a blood test being done for distemper.

The last update we had was Thursday night when the total number of deaths was at 84. We suspect that more died Friday before the agreement was made, but we can't be sure since there has been no confirmation. Luckily Ohio State University and University of Wisconsin are helping with testing and we hope this will help make a difference. The local humane society is taking in stray dogs rather than send them to the county facility. And rescues have been able to pull dogs that were well past any need to quarantine (ie - their vaccines would have been effective prior to the exposure).

#RememberTheRescue Challenge:
Take a picture of your rescued pet. Post to social media. Use the hashtags: #RememberTheRescue and #RememberMeThursday and your favorite rescue could win food, toys and other prizes. Cool right??

Please take a moment to honor those that HAVE been rescued....and remember those that never got that chance.

Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet

Started several years ago, extra special attention has been to those pets that may get passed over for whatever reason: coat color (black), senior, special needs, FIV+ or FeLV+, etc

We are going to talk about Liberty and Freedom - the patriot girls.

Freedom

Liberty

Honestly, mom is beginning to find their names ironic more than anything else. The woman who found them as kittens gave them the names since they were found around July 4th. However, they haven't gotten much liberty or freedom around here.

When they came to us, it was with an upper respiratory infection. Mom kept them in the tower for two reasons - so they kept their snot to themselves and to make it easier to catch them to medicate them (even then they were a little shy). However, over time the URI has come and gone but not completely gone away. Mom has tried nebulizing them and a couple of different medications. She wonders if it may be chronic....and if it may be caused by stress.

In addition, both girls got out of the foster room where they were going to spend the weekend while mom was out of town. She spent quite a while trying to catch them again. When they were put back in the tower, it almost seemed like they relaxed since it was a smaller and "safe" space. There was some original conversation with the rescue about maybe them becoming working cats, but if the house makes them afraid, no telling what would happen elsewhere. We couldn't stomach them being moved and then disappearing out of fear.

What makes them less adoptable?

• At this point they are almost 5 months old. We have noticed people want tiny kittens or feel sorry for adults, but the juvenile kittens tend to be around longer. 
• They may have chronic URI (or it may clear up when they aren't feeling stressed). 
• They are skittish and are going to take some time and love and patience to come around in a new environment. 
• And they are bonded - they love to play and sleep with each other and can be found piled up napping.

Don't get us wrong....we also suspect that them getting a home of their own will help them feel more secure (once they adjust) and safe. Once that happens we suspect the sneezing will lessen and they will come out of their shells. Right now, they have mainly been at the shelter or with us, and that entire time has involved being caught and medicated. You would dislike mom too after all of that.....

That being said, they are very sweet, very playful and their coats are SO soft. Freedom doesn't mind being held and loved on - but you do have to catch her first. Liberty will tolerate a few minutes of petting but she is definitely more hand shy (and you are going to have to catch her first too). Mom laughs watching them play and tumble around the tower. We wish we had a room that could be emptied and closed off to give them more space to play.

Mom has decided this....our rescue does not restrict out of state adoptions. If you know ANYONE who might be interested, please please please let us know and we will work very hard to make it happen.

kitten report

Wheat and Saldano are still doing great. Just need to gain a little more weight and they can be off to their forever homes (we are sure they will go quick). They spend a lot of time playing together but tend to nap separately.

The little ones are.....little. They are still nursing and eating on their own. Mom tried to syringe feed the brandy kittens some KMR and they didn't seem to care too much about it. She has put some out in a bowl and they will drink some - though mom has to be in there to be sure that Marilyn doesn't drink it all.

That being said, they are bright and active and playing. Mom made an appointment with the v-e-t for Friday just to have them looked over....just in case. 

mom just realized this picture makes Monroe look like a mutant

his head really isn't that much bigger than his body

this girls - still can't tell them apart

Russell is the biggest of the kittens. He does tend to throw his weight around and make the little ones cry some - though the girls tend to give as good as they get.

Mom has been putting up one of the gates and sitting with them to supervise but allow them to have some more space to run around. They seem to be enjoying it and seeing the world outside the bathroom. Calvados tends to pick a spot on mom and watch the shenanigans.

And bless Marilyn - she is SO chill. Mom put up the gate on Monday morning while she took a shower and of course Daiquiri had to jump it to see if she could mooch some kitten food. Marilyn just laid there and watched her walk by. Though one of the girls freaked out and put on her stranger danger suit....which is more hilarious than scary.

weekend report

sigh.....we STILL have the hots....at least enough during the day so that mom won't open the windows. our condo is on the 2nd floor and really doesn't have a straight line for air to rush through so better to run the cold air and keep it comfy.

We hope you all had a great weekend. Mom ran errands, watched some guys in green run around on tv (which makes her yell), and just relaxed some.

Random Fridays

We were hoping to have open windows for a while, but it appears that the days are going to be warm. Though mom says the nights will cool off and she will open the windows then. It is tough since we live on the 2nd floor and there really isn't much air flow through the condo.

Wheat and Saldano continue to get along. They are playing some though tend to nap on opposite sides of the room. At least there is no more singing of the "I am lonely" song.

Marilyn and the kittens are doing well. The black kittens are pretty tiny still and that worries mom some. She put canned food out and they ate some but not much.

Marilyn is so friendly that getting her picture can be tough

Monroe and Calvados

one of the girls has a complaint

both girls (can't tell them apart yet)

Russell has a skeptical

(actually he had an eye booger)

Mom pulled out the gates the other night and sat in the hall inside the gate to give the kittens more room to run around. Daiquiri of course wanted IN but mom told her no. Fortunately Marilyn seemed unfazed both by wild kittens and Daiquiri outside the gate. But that doesn't mean being INSIDE the gate would be OK.

The kittens had a good time running around a little more space. Mom won't leave the gate up unsupervised, but it is a nice way to get some air circulating and give the kittens some room to run.

Hope you all have a safe and happy weekend!!

a moment of silence

 *a post by the mom

There was some disturbing news that came out locally here over the weekend.

I got a text from a friend on Saturday that there was speculation circulating that there was an outbreak of canine distemper at the county run dog shelter. In our area, this is where all stray dogs are taken and there are also owner surrenders. There has been some management turn over and questions about how the county commissioners are running everything. And keep in mind that this place is using local county tax dollars to operate.

This is the timeline as best I can figure out:
August 31 - a dog was surrendered (or returned - there is some question about that) and processed through. The dog was later determined to be seriously ill and was euthanized. The shelter at that point supposedly suspected distemper. The dog was also not quarantined and thereby exposed other dogs in the shelter.

10 days later, speculation started on social media that the dog shelter had a distemper outbreak. There was nothing in any news reports and the shelter made no statement.

In the 10 days from the intake of the sick dog and exposure, intakes and adoptions and rescue placements continued to happen. NO ONE was notified of any exposure risk.

On Sunday a protest/memorial was held at the shelter when news leaked that 52 dogs had already been killed on Sunday morning. At that point the shelter issued a statement that they would be closed on Sunday to the public due to a health issue. It wasn't until later that day that they confirmed the deaths of these 52 dogs and stated there had been exposure to distemper.

Don't misunderstand me....I do NOT blame staff or volunteers.

This is absolutely a management issue.

Where were the quarantine protocols? Vaccinations can and should be done on intake, but the protection is not immediate.

Where was the notification? Adopters and rescues received NO NOTICE about this risk. There are now statements that several dogs pulled into rescue are showing upper respiratory symptoms and one has developed neurological issues. The news stations yesterday finally reported that the shelter intends to send letters to people who adopted during that time. But they are refusing to allow adopters to bring those dogs adopted during that time to be examined. Adopters are being told to take the dogs to their own vet to be tested. And at the adopters cost. The news reported 2 families returned dogs adopted during that time and both dogs were immediately put down.

This place has already face issues with how they determine behavior to get to the adoption floor. Rescues know full well that they have to move quick to save dogs from THE list....one dog our rescue pulled was a chihuahua that they said was "nervous" during the test. ummmm - duh?? (They are also still using a behavior test that the originator has since said is now invalid)

In the meantime, the news is reporting that the total number of dogs now killed is up to 64.

Beyond politics and arguments, 64 DOGS LOST THEIR LIVES
#neverforgotten
#neveragain

How can you help if you want? Spread the word. And we know several rescues in central Ohio have taken in dogs....

weekend report

We know it is Wednesday, but mom was gone all weekend and didn't get around to updating anything until yesterday afternoon. She spent the weekend in Tennessee with her family and got back Monday night.

Which would be her excuse for not wishing Spud a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Barley wasn't adopted over the weekend, but the center seems to be busy on Tuesdays, so we are hopeful he will get adopted this week.

 

Liberty and Freedom

The patriot girls are back in the tower. They were both out of the foster room when mom got home and were running scared. She managed to get them and put them in the tower to keep them contained. She is going to email the head of the rescue about the next step. Mom is sure she can't get them any friendlier - they have been medicated so many times they are afraid of mom. Plus she suspect part of the reason for the continued snotty noses may be stress.

Marilyn continues to take very good care of her boys and Fiona's kittens. The brandy kittens are still pretty tiny, but they are active and eating and seem to be doing well. Nothing is ever guaranteed, but we continue to hope they will thrive.

With Hops adopted, Barley at the adoption center, and the patriot girls in the tower, Wheat was by herself in the foster room. And she was NOT happy about it. She sang the "I am very lonely" song over and over....loudly and in siamese.

So mom contacted the rescue and Tuesday afternoon brought home this:

 

Meet Saldano

Ironically, like Wheat she was left in a box at one of our remote adoption centers inside a pet store. We figure this means it was meant to be. She came right out of her carrier to check out the foster space and within an hour or so the girls were playing happily together.

naming day

Well, mom decided on names for Fiona's kittens.

They continue to do well with Marilyn and her boys and we are very grateful for that.

Mom thought about trying to stick with similar names to Marilyn and her boys since they are now all one family. But it didn't seem to work. She thought some more, play around on the interwebs, and made a decision. Meet the #BrandyKittens

Lakka was named in memorium. We don't like kittens to go unremembered, so their little gray brother that didn't make it has a name.

The boy is the short haired one and his name is Calvados.

The girls are going to be fuzzy like their momma and are named Kirsch and Chambord.

Calvados is an apple brandy, Kirsch is a cherry brandy and Chambord is a raspberry liquor (ok, not a brandy, but close enough). Lakka is a cloudberry (Finish) liquor.

Mo Cats Day

Thanks for all the comments yesterday. We will keep you posted if we catch Fiona along the way.
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Some good news:

ADOPTED!!

Hops has been adopted. The market from Sunday was located in a shopping strip. One of the owners of the aquarium store next to the market came out a few times to check on the kittens (the table was right next to their front door). The owner filled out an application, mom checked it over and everything was fine, and Hops went home Wednesday afternoon. He will have 2 dads, and older kitty sister and 2 dogs to live with. Normally adopters come to the adoption center to finalize everything, but Hops was still at the house and the adopter works on the opposite side of town from the adoption center. So mom decided to deliver....and Hops got to check out the fish store!!
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Every year we make the laughing comment that our Mo thinks this holiday is ALL about him.

This year we would like to ask mom to have "no mo cats" for a while until these guys grow up and move along. (mom says she makes no guarantees)

So far they seem to be more into making a mess than eating much. There is evidence they are using the litter box, and we are sure Marilyn is THRILLED by that part of it. They can often be found all piled up together, which is such a joy to see. Obviously the kittens don't care that they aren't actually related. And bless Marilyn for being so tolerant....she is caring and feeding all of them and the other night after a snack, two of them climbed up on her back and took a snooze. MOL (of course mom had left her phone and camera in the other room too....)

Barley will be headed up to the adoption center today and we have our paws crossed he gets adopted over the weekend. He got pretty whiny Wednesday night after Hops left. He was in the foster space with Wheat (the patriot girls were still in the tower) but apparently she just wasn't interesting enough. Mom played with them both, but if she left, he grumped. Finally mom gave up and moved the patriot girls out of the tower and back into the foster space. Mom didn't want Barley exposed to them, but 2 days of whining might push her over the edge. MOL  Barley was super excited to see the girls. Between that and his flirting with Fiona, Barley must have a thing for older women. hahaha

Liberty and Freedom are responding to the different meds and seem to be doing much better. Mom also borrowed a nebulizer from the rescue and used that for a few days on them both and we are sure that helped break up the snot. Not ready for surgery quite yet, but getting there.

Wheat is doing well. Her eyes are still a little goopy, but she is playing and super friendly. Just need to get some weight on her and she will be ready to go.

We also want to apologize if you have been checking the web camera. We are in contact with the company and we think they are sending a new one. Not sure if we just got a wonky camera or what, but it has been working sporadically for the last 10 days or so.